July 7, 2021

End-of-Session State Legislative Recap Governor Murphy on June 29 signed into law the Legislature-passed fiscal year 2022 New Jersey State budget. The $46.4 budget continues the State’s commitment to our life sciences ecosystem with a significant investment in the New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology. A number of other legislative initiatives were considered during the late June flurry of legislative activity. Among these initiatives were:  S-2682/A-4016, legislation to create a New Jersey Rare Disease Advisory Council (RDAC) authored by Assembly Representatives Dancer, Benson and Verrelli, along with Senators Gopal and Kean which the Governor then signed into law making the long awaited RDAC official in New Jersey.  A-4918/S-3266, legislation authored by Majority Leader Greenwald, Assemblyman Johnson and Assemblyman Mukherji, along with Senators Gopal and Diegnan, to allow corporations to continue holding virtual shareholder meetings post-pandemic.  Additionally, Governor Murphy signed into law A-5520/S-3633, legislation authored by Assembly Representatives Vainieri Huttle, McKnight and Benson, as well as Senators Kean and Diegnan, to increase income eligibility limits for the PAAD and Senior Gold Prescription Discount Programs. An estimated 20,000 additional New Jerseyans will now qualify for these important Patient access programs.  Click here for a copy of BioNJ’s Public Policy Alert on the budget. Click here for BioNJ’s Public Policy Alert on the RDAC.

NJ Attorney General Grewal Announces New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has announced his departure from the office. Attorney General Grewal will be heading to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to helm the agency’s enforcement division. Attorney General Grewal has served as our Attorney General since 2018. We thank him for his work on behalf of all New Jerseyans and for his riveting keynote at the BioNJ DEI Conference in March of this year.

President Biden, Congressional Leaders Unveil Infrastructure Plan Framework President Biden and a group of bipartisan Congressional leaders have announced a bipartisan agreement on a wide-ranging plan for infrastructure investment. The $1.2 trillion dollar plan includes more than $300 billion in roads, bridges and other transportation-related infrastructure projects with additional funding for broadband, water and other infrastructure undertakings.  Click here for President Biden’s fact sheet on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework.

Finance Chair Wyden Unveils Drug Pricing Principles   U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) has released his drug pricing principles. The principles include support for Medicare “negotiation” of drug prices and requiring rebates on prices that rise faster than inflation. The principles also include support for reforms that extend beyond the Medicaid and Medicare programs under the Finance Committee’s jurisdiction. BioNJ continues to work with our New Jersey delegation to find commonsense approaches to drug pricing that support Patient access while maintaining the drug development system that has resulted in COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics and other groundbreaking and lifesaving cures. We look forward to continuing that important work in the coming months.  Click here to read Senator Wyden’s principles.

21st Century Cures 2.0 Draft Released Congressional Representatives Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Fred Upton (R-MI) have introduced bipartisan legislation building on 2015’s 21st Century Cures initiative. CURES 2.0 includes provisions creating the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) outlined by President Biden and his administration. The draft also proposes authorizing the $6.5 billion needed to create the agency. Additionally, CURES 2.0 includes a number of provisions aimed at bringing groundbreaking therapies and cures to the Patients who need them most while working to address other important issues, such as improving diversity in clinical trials, enhancing access to telehealth services and expanding FDA “real-world data” collection.  Click here to read the draft legislation. Click here for a section-by-section of the draft legislation.

BioNJ Value-Based Pricing Education Webinar Offered July 14 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will be among the featured speakers at a July 14 BioNJ webinar entitled “Improving Access and Reducing Costs for Innovative Medicines” focused on providing access to innovative therapies. The virtual event will include discussions on value-based pricing and access to care, Medicaid value-based pricing regulatory activity innovative state value-based models. Click here to register for this important event.

We Need Your Help: Support BioNJ Policy and Advocacy Efforts BioNJ is the voice of New Jersey’s life sciences sector in Trenton and Washington. BioNJ’s Public Policy Support Series sponsorship opportunities are available for 2021. Sponsorship opportunities help make sure that our message is delivered in both Trenton and Washington, D.C. Help ensure BioNJ continues to deliver our message of improved Patient access and enhanced innovation through a Public Policy Support Series Sponsorship.  More information is available here.

Thank You to Our Public Policy Sponsors

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